Two impressive, potentially ageworthy Garnacha (Grenache) wines from Navarra. They’re quite difficult to assess right now because they are just so tannic and primary, but I think they will be special with a decade in the cellar.

They’re from Domaines Lupier, which is the project of Enrique Basarte and Elisa Úcar whose mission has been to [...]

In a progressive move, UK-based wine magazine Decanter has announced that it adopting the 100 point scale for its tasting section, and that it is reducing the number of tasters for each session to three. Significantly the individual scores of each taster will now be published.

Oh yes, I like this a lot. When Cornas is good, it can be great. This is a great example, from a young vigneron called Guillaume Gilles, and I believe that this 2007 Cornas was his first vintage. Top notch. Available in the UK from Vine Trail.

If you can, take some time to read this great article in a Nature supplement by wine-loving philosophy professor Barry Smith. It discusses whether the flavour (or taste) of a wine is the property of the wine or not.

This may seem a slightly self-indulgent academic discussion, but it has important implications for how we approach wine [...]

A while back I was enthusing here about Grenache Blanc, and several people told me to keep an eye out for Grenache Gris. Well, I found one – it’s from Domaine Jones, whose wines I reviewed a while back. The packaging is very stylish and so is the wine. Presumably Grenache Blanc, Gris and Noir [...]

This is an interesting wine, the brainchild of an Italian-based Armenian, Zorik Gharibian. After extensive research he purchased some land in Vayotz Dzor, which is historically the key Armenian wine region. With help from wnemaker Alberto Antonini and viticulturist Stefano Bartolomei, he has developed a wine that spans the traditional and modern very successfully.

There’s been a fair bit of chat in the wine world about ‘The Judgment of Princeton’ (here). This was a wine tasting organized by the American Association of Wine Economists (AAWE) along the lines of the famous Judgment of Paris from 1976 in which Californian wines gave some classic French wines a bit of a [...]

I am being spoiled by Spain at the moment. Hot on the heels of yesterdays fabulous Vega Sicilia tasting, today was a chance to try through a wide range of the fabulous Equipo Navazos sherries with Jesús Barquín, one of the original partners in the venture.